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Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Don Henry examines some of the environmental issues facing the nation in election year 2013.

WHEN BOB HAWKE SWEPT TO OFFICE in 1982, widespread concern about the Tasmanian Government's proposal to build a dam on the Franklin River was central to his election victory.

Mr Hawke made good on his promise to stop the dam, overriding the State Government proposal in 1983.

Thirty years on, at the start of another election year, industry lobbyists, led by the Business Council of Australia (BCA), are stepping up their efforts to have the federal government's national environmental decision-making powers delegated back to state governments.

The business lobby says it wants to 'streamline', 'remove duplication' and cut 'green tape'.

In reality its proposal is all about cutting an essential layer of scrutiny and review that protects environmental values.

If state governments had the final say on development approvals in the past, not only would there be a dam on the Franklin River, there would be oil rigs on the Great Barrier Reef and cattle trampling through the Alpine National Park.

In December, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) decided to put the business lobby's proposal on the backburner, but I have no doubt the BCA and other industry groups will re-heat the plan as we get closer to the election.

This issue, important symbolically as well as practically, is one environment groups will vigilantly pursue in 2013.

Of course Bob Hawke's Franklin River-inspired victory in 1982 wasn't the only time environmental issues have loomed large in a federal election campaign.

Climate change played a big part in the election in 2007.

And climate change will continue to present major challenges for federal governments - and aspiring federal governments - especially as more and more Australians join the dots between greenhouse pollution and the damage caused by extreme weather.

A couple of wet years on Australia's eastern seaboard that left Queensland and much of New South Wales and Victoria ravaged by extreme flooding might have prompted some people to forget droughts, heatwaves and water restrictions. But a couple of wet years haven't stopped climate change. In fact these dramatic changes, from one extreme to the other, should ring alarm bells.

The best, most recent scientific predictions suggest average global temperatures will increase by between four and five degrees by the end of this century if we continue on our current path. That would create an Australia very different to the one in which we now live.

It's an Australia that has twice as many days above 35 degrees each year in its two biggest cities, Melbourne and Sydney. It's an Australia where heat-related illness and death are much more common. It's an Australia with more catastrophic bushfires, more floods and more frequent droughts. It's an Australia that doesn't have a ski season or a tourist-attracting Great Barrier Reef.

Australia's carbon price, which came into effect in July last year - despite a concerted and shameless scare campaign by vested interests - is an important step that has in no way lived up to the doomsday predictions.

There is now more to be done. We need governments that will transform the way Australians think about energy sources and energy use and dramatically scale up our booming clean renewable energy sector.

We need politicians who are prepared to strip away wasteful taxpayer assistance to dirty, fossil-fuel sectors.

We need all political parties to support Australia being bold and active in helping shape a strong international agreement to limit greenhouse emissions - a healthy future for our nation depends on this.

The United Nations climate change conference in Doha, Qatar, in December laid the groundwork for a global agreement to be finalised in 2015. Such a deal will be crucial for the future of our shared climate.

Australia's price on pollution and commitment to Kyoto 2 put us in an influential position. We can urge the USA and China to work for an ambitious agreement, while building a clean economy at home and helping our Pacific neighbours adapt to climate changes.

Continued bipartisan support for international climate action will help Australia exercise this influence well.

Several other major environmental initiatives from the last 12 months still have big question marks over them.

We now have a Murray-Darling Basin Plan that guarantees 2,750 gigalitres of extra environmental flows. But will the government legislate the extra 450 gigalitres promised by Minister Tony Burke in November?

Returning 3,200 gigalitres of water, and removing constraints to good river management, would give the Murray-Darling half a chance of returning to health, but the package as it stands fails to adequately allow for the impact of climate change on water availability.

We have a historic peace deal that promises to end the warring over forests in Tasmania and give the island state a new lease of life, but will the Upper House in Tasmania support the agreement and state and federal governments effectively implement it?

Will efforts by conservationists working hand-in-hand with traditional owners to identify and protect the outstanding natural and cultural values of Cape York and the Kimberley and generate jobs come to fruition?

These are some of the questions we will be urging all parties to answer before the next election so Australians who love the environment can cast their votes wisely and help secure a sustainable future for our country.

Jake :

If you think Aunty's (yes, apostrophes do still exist Reuben) biased, I'd actually love to know where you generally get your news... (That was rhetorical by the way, I'm pretty sure I can guess).

PS apparently publishing an opinion piece from an environmental NGO has kickstarted your ire - I assume you've posted reciprocal statements about their support for the Coalition below all the articles they publish from the IPA, Peter Reith et al...?

Jenny Goldie :

16 Jan 2013 9:29:47am

All those issues are indeed important but another needs to be added: population growth. Australia has an unsustainable population growth rate of 1.6% which, if maintained, would see our population double to 45 million by 2056. All the problems listed would be much harder to solve if we grew to this extent. While human populations grow, so too do greenhouse gas emissions. If anyone is serious about dealing with climate change, and it is a much more urgent problem than Don suggests, then stabilising then reducing population has to be part of the solution.

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